Heel clamp



June 22, 1965 J. s. KAMBORIAN HEEL CLAMP Original Filed May 10, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 //V VE N 70/? Jacob S. Kombor/an Br WMATW June 22, 1965 a KAMBORMN 3,189,925

HEEL CLAMP Original Filed May 10, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG-Z June 22, 1965 J. s. KAMBORIAN 5 HEEL CLAMP Original Filed May 10. 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,189,925 HEEL CLP .1 acob S. Kamhorian, 133 Forest Ave., West Newton, Mass. Original application May 10, 1962, Ser. No. 193,829. Divided and this application May 7, 1963, Ser. No.

r 7 Ciairns. (Cl. 12-14.4)

This application is a division of copending application Serial No. 193,829 filed May 10, 1962.

The parent application discloses a toe pulling over and lasting machine that includes a last support for supporting bottom-down a last having a shoe upper draped about its toe end and a shoe insole located on its bottom, a toe clamp forholding the shoe against the last support, wipers for wiping the lasting margin of the wiper at and adjacent the toe end against the insole, and a heel clamp that bears and is locked against the heel of the upper to hold the shoe in place during the wiping operation.

The instant application is directed to the aforesaid heel clamp and its actuating means. The heel clamp is mounted on an upwardly extending post for swinging movement about both an upwardly extending axis and a horizontal axis and is operative by powered means connected to the post to be forced about the horizontal axis against the heel of the shoe. The upwardly extending axis permits the heel clamp to conform itself to the curvature of the heel of the last by swinging about the upwardly extending axis.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the machine;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the machine;

FIG. 3 is a detail of the heel clamp mount;

FIG. 4 is a schematic representation of the shoe in the machine at the beginning of the machine cycle;

FIG. 4A is a view taken on the line iA- l-A of FIG. 4;

FIG. 4B is a view taken on the line EB-43 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 5 is a schematic representation of the shoe in the machine just prior to the actuation of the wipers;

FIG. 5A is a view taken on the line 5A-A of FIG. 5;

FIG. 5B is a View taken on the line 5B-5B of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 5C is a view taken on the line 5C-5C of FIG. 5A;

FIG. 6 is a schematic representation of the shoe in the machine at the end of the machine cycle; and

FIG. 6A is a view taken on the line dA--6A of FIG. 6.

The machine comprises a frame 10 (FIGS. 1 and 2) that includes inclined struts 12 and an inclined block 14.

The machine is inclined approximately from the horizontal so that the operator may more readilyhave access thereto, but, for the sake of convenience, parts extending in the direction of the struts 12 will be referred to as extending vertically and parts extending in the direction of the block 14 will be referred to as extending horizontally.

Wipers 16 are mounted in the block 14 for horizontal movement and are drivingly connected to an air operated motor 18 for this purpose. A substantially U-shaped shoe conforming yoke 211 is mounted in the frame above the wipers (FIGS. 1 and 4B). A mounting bracket 22 is secured to the frame 16 and extends forwardly thereof below the wipers 16 and yoke 20. An air actuated motor 24, mounted on the bracket 22, is drivingly connected to a stretch plate or last support 26 to effect vertical movement of the stretch plate. A center retarder 3,189,925 Patented June 22, 1965 23 and side retarders Stl are mounted below the wipers 16. The retarders are affixed to piston rodsof air operated motors mounted on the bracket 22 so that they may be moved vertically towards and away from the undersurfaces of the wipers 16, the motor 32 for the center retarcler 28 being shown in FIG. 1 and the motors for the side rctarders not being shown. Pincers 34 are fulcrumed to the frame on pivots $6 for swinging movement toward and away from the center line of the machine. Air operated motors 38 are connected to the pincers to effect their swinging movement, and air operated motors 4d are connected to the pincers jaws to open and close them. The uppermost portion of the frame 10 is formed into a head 42 in which a slide 44 is slidably mounted for forward and rearward movement through actuation of an air operated motor 46. A toe clamp 4% is slidably mounted for vertical movement in the forward end of the slide 44 and is yieldably urged upwardly by a spring 50. A lever 52, fulcrumed to the .slide 44, may be swung clockwise (FIG. 2) by means of air operated motors 54 or 56 to lower the toe clamp 48 against the force of the spring 50. Reference is made to the aforementioned application Serial No. 193,829 for a more detailed description of these parts.

The frame 11 includes a platform 58 that has a pin 61 extending upwardly thereof. A collar 62 is swivelled on the pin for swinging movement about the axis of the pin and a post 64 is pivoted to a lug 65 extending outwardly of collar 62 by a pivot 66 for swinging movement with respect to the collar about a horizontal axis. The upper end of the post 64 is fitted into a hollow heel clamp holder 6% and a heel clamp 76 is secured to the heel clamp holder 68. The post 64 has a plurality of sockets 72 running lengthwise thereof, any one of which is adapted to receive a pin 74 mounted in the holder 63 and yieldably urged toward the post 64 by a spring 76 (FIG. 3).

A bracket 78, secured to the frame 141, has a pin 30 secured thereto and extending upwardly thereof that is coaxial with the pin 66 (FIG. 2). A bracket 82 is pivotally mounted on the pin 80 for swinging movement about the axis of the pin. The bracket 82 has horizontally extending gibs 84 which slidably receive a plate $6. The plate 86 has a nut 8% dependent therefrom into whicha screw 90 is threaded, the screw being rotatably mounted in the plate 86. A wheel 92 (FIG. 1) rotatabiy mounted in the frame 11) is connected by a universal coupling 94 and bevel gearing 96 to the screw 9%. An air actuated motor 93 is pivoted to the plate 86 by a pivot 111%). The motor 98 has a block 1ll2 secured thereto by a fastener 10%. The piston rod 106 of the motor 98 has a plunger 168 secured thereto, and the plunger is slidable in a hole in the block 102. The forward end of the plunger 1198 is pivoted to a link 1111 and the link 111i is connected to the post 64. A brake cam 112 is eccentrically mounted in the block 1112 on a pivot pin 114 An air operated motor 116, pivotally mounted on the block 1&2, has a piston rod .118 that is pivotally connected to the brake cam 112.

In the operation ofthe machine, a last is provided having an insole 122 secured to its bottom and an upper 124 draped over its toe (FIGS. 4 and 4A). The upper has preferably been previously heel seat lasted by a heel seat lasting machine such as that disclosed in pending application Serial No. 107,156 filed May 2, 1961. At this time, the wipers are held in their retracted position by the motor 18, the slide .42 is held in a retracted position by the motor 46 to maintain the toe clamp 48 in a rearward out of the way position, the stretch plate 26 is held in a lower position by the motor 24, the spring 50 holds the toe clamp 48 in an upper position, the retarders 28 and 30 are held in a lower position away from the wipers 16, the heel clamp 70 is swung to a forward position by the motor 98, the brake earn 112 has been swung clockwise (FIG. 2) by the motor 116 to an unlocking position, the jaws of the pincers 34 are held open by the motors 4t], and the pincers 34 are held in an outer position by the motors 38. I

The last, upper and insole assembly in now presented, bottom down, to the machine with the insole 122 resting on the stretch plate 26, the toe end of the last 120 abutting against the center retarder 28 and the lasting margin 126 of the upper 124 extending above the retarders 2S and St) between the retarders and the wipers 16. The forepart portions of the upper margin are inserted betwen the open jaws of the pincers 34. At this time the shoe is in the position indicated in FIGS. 4, 4A and 4B.

The operator now actuates the machine control to cause the machine to commence its cycle. The retarders 28 and 31) are raised to press the lasting margin 126 of the upper against the undersides of the wipers 16 and the motors 40 are actuated to close the pincers 34 on the forepart portions of the upper margin. After this, the motor 24 is actuated to raise the stretch plate 26 to a level that brings the bottom of the insole 122 a distance above the tops of the wipers 16 by an amount substantially equal to the thickness of the lasting margin 126, and the motors 38 are actuated to swing the pincers 34 inwardly about the pivots 36. The inward movement of the pincers 34 is delayed until the stretch plate 26 has risen an amount sufficient to enable the pincers to clear the bottom of the shoe. The parts 16, 26, 28, 30 and 34 now assume the position shown in FIGS. 5, A, 5B and 5C and the machine is brought to a halt.

During the aforesaid raising of the shoe, the margin of the upper is gripped by the retarders 28 and 30 to draft and stretch the upper about the last.

The pincers 34 maintain their grip on the upper margin during the raising of the shoe without slippage and thus serve to pull down the forepart of the upper to stretch it tightly on the last and ensure that the topline 128 of the upper is properly disposed on the last. The inward movement of the pincers 34 causes the upper margin at the forepart portions of the shoe to be laid inwardly of the bottom of the last as indicated in FIGS. 5A and 5B.

The shoe was initially so placed on the stretch plate 26 that the edges of the last overlapped the inner wall 130 of the yoke 20. When the last is forced upwardly, the yoke presses against the upper with a yieldable force to snugly engage the upper and cause the shoe upper to snugly conform to the shape of the last during the rise of the last.

After the machine has come to a halt as described above, the operator examines the shoe to determine whether the forepart portion of the upper 124 is draped evenly over the last as indicated in FIG. 5B, with the throat line 128 of the upper properly positioned on the last (FIG. 5). If it is not, he may manipulate the pincers 34 as described in the aforementioned application Serial No. 193,829 to properly center the upper on the last.

The operator now causes the machine to resume its cycle. The motor 46 is actuated to bring the slide 44 from its normal out of the way position to a forward working position where the toe clamp 48 is above the fore part of the last. This is followed by an actuation of the motors 54 to swing the lever 52 clockwise (FIG. 2) to depress the toe clamp 48 and bring it into engagement with the forepart of the upper and clamp the shoe and last between the toe pad 48 and the stretch plate 26. Now

the motor 98 is actuated to bring the heel clamp 76 to bear against the heel portion of the last. The parts now assume the position shown in FIG. 5.

The heelclamp 70, in its movement toward the last, may swing about the common vertical axis of the pins 60'and 80 as it engages the upper and last and thereby accommodate itself to the curvature of the heel of the last and provide a maximum bearing pressure against the last. An extension of this axis intersects the plane of the wipers 16 at about the point 132 (FIG. 6A) about which they move inwardly in their wiping stroke as described below so that the pressure exerted by the heel clamp is substantially radial to the area of engagement of the wipers against the upper margin as described below.

After this, the motor'116 is actuated to cause counterclockwise movement (FIG. 2) of the cam brake 112 thereby pressing the larger radius portion of the cam brake against the plunger 168 to lock the heel clamp 70 in position and the motor 18 is actuated to impart a working stroke to the wipers 16. The wipers comprise a pair of plates that have surfaces 134 that diverge forwardly from the point 132. During the working stroke the wipers are translated forwardly and move inwardly about the point 132 so that the surfaces 134 moves across the edge of the last and wiper or fold the lasting margin 126 of the upper up against the isole 122 as indicated in FIGS. 6 and 6A. During the wiper stroke, a knife 136 that is mounted between the wipers is projected forwardly of the surfaces 134 to cut into the upper material gathered at the toe of the last to relieve the stresses formed in this region.

During the working stroke of the wipers, the retarders 28, 311 are lowered away from the wipers, the motors 40 are actuated to open the pincers 34, the motor 24 is actuated to lower the stretch plate 26 so that the shoe is supported on its bottom only by the wipers 16 and the motors 38 are actuated to move the pincers 34 outwardly. At the end of the wiper stroke, air is supplied to the motor 56 at a higher pressure than the air supplied to the motors 54 to actuate the motor 56 to cause the toe clamp 48 to apply a heavier pressure than was heretofore applied through the motors 54 and thus apply a relatively heavy bedding pressure between the now wiped in lasting margin 126 and the wipers 16. The parts now assume the position shown in FIGS. 6 and 6A.

After the bedding pressure has been applied for a sufficient period of time, the operator causes the machine parts to return to their original position and release the now pulled over and toe lasted shoe. Prior to placing the shoe in the machine, cement had been deposited in the toe portion of the insole adjacent the edge thereof by an apparatus such as that disclosed in Patent No. 3,079,618 or pending application Serial No. 181,682 filed March 22, 1962. As a result of the pressures generated during the wiping operation and the application of the bedding pressure described above, the wiped-in upper margin and the insole are adhesively bonded to each other through the cement.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims. It is to be understood that terms such as upwardly and horizontal merely define the relative movements and locations of the parts and should be so construed.

I claim:

1. Heel clamping means comprising: an upwardly extending post; a heel clamp on the post; a support for supporting a shoe upper having its heel portion facing the heel clam-p; means pivotally mounting the post for swinging movement at its lower end with respect to the support about a horizontal axis to enable the heel clamp to be moved toward and away from the heelportion of the upper and for free swinging movement with respect to the support about an upwardly extending axis; and powered means connected to the post to eifect its movement about the horizontal axis.

2. Heel clamping means comprising: a lug mounted for free swinging movement about a first, upwardly extending axis, an upwardly extending post pivoted to the lug for swinging movement about a second, horizontal axis; a heel clamp secured to the post; a motor mounted for free swinging movement about said first axis; means connecting said motor to the post; and means for actuating the motor to cause the post to swing about said sec- .ond axis.

3. Heel clamping means comprising: a frame; a lug pivoted to the frame for swinging movement about a first, upwardly extending axis; an upwardly extending post pivoted to the lug tor swinging movement about a second horizontal axis; a heel clamp secured to the post; a motor pivoted to the frame, above the lug, for swinging movement amout said first axis; a drive rod extending away from the motor; means for connecting the post to the drive rod; and means for actuating the motor to thereby move tthe drive rod to swing the post about the second axis.

4. Heel clamping means comprising: a frame; a lug pivoted to the frame for swinging movement about a first, upwardly extending axis; an upwardly extending post pivoted to the lug for swinging movement about a second, horizontal axis; a heel clamp secured to the post; a first motor pivoted to the frame, above the lug, for swinging movement about said first axis; a block secured to the first motor; a drive rod extending away from the first motor; a plunger secured to the drive rod and slidably mounted in the block; link means connecting the plunger to the post; brake means mounted in the block [for movement toward and away firom the plunger; a second motor mounted on the block and operatively connected to the brake means; means for actuating the first motor to thereby move the drive rod and swing the post about said second axis; and means for actuating the second motor to thereby cause the brake means to lock the plunger in place and thus lock the post against movement about said second axis.

5. Heel clamping means comprising: an upwardly extending post; a heel clamp secured to the post; a support for supporting a shoe upper having its heel portion facing the heel clamp; a lug mounted for free swinging movement with respect to the support about a first, upwardly extending axis; means pivoting the post to the lug for swinging movement with respect to the support about a second, horizontal axis to enable the heel clamp to he moved toward and away from the heel portion of the upper; a motor mounted for free swinging movement about said first axis; means connecting said motor to the post; and means for actuating the motor to cause the post to swing about said second axis.

6. Heel clamping means comprising: an upwardly extending post; a heel clamp secured to the post; a support for supporting a shoe upper having its heel portion facing the heel clamp; a frame; a lug pivoted to the frame for tree swinging movement with respect to the support about a first, upwardly extending axis; means pivoting the post to the lug for swinging movement with respect to the support about a second, horizontal axis to enable the heel clamp to be moved toward and away from the heel portion of the upper; a motor pivoted to the frame, above the lug, for free swinging movement about said first axis; a drive rod extending away from the motor; means for connecting the post to the drive rod; and means for actuating the motor to thereby move the drive rod to swing the post about the second axis.

7. Heel clamping means comprising: an upwardly extending post; a heel clamp secured to the post; a support for supporting a shoe upper having its heel portion facing the heel clamp; a frame; a lug pivoted to the frame for free swinging movement with respect to the support about a first, upwardly extending axis; means pivoting the post to the lug for swinging movement with respect to the support about a second, horizontal axis to enable the heel clamp to he moved toward and away from the heel portion of the upper; a first motor pivoted to the frame, above the lug, for free swinging movement about said first axis; a block secured to the first motor; a drive rod extending away from the first motor; a plunger secured to the drive rod and slidably mounted in the block; link rneans connecting the plunger to the post; brake means mounted in the block for movement toward and away vfrom the plunger; a second motor mounted on the block and opertively connected to the brake means; means for actuating the first motor to thereby move the drive rod and swing the post about said second axis; and mean-s for actuating the second motor to thereby cause the brake means to lock the plunger in place and thus lock the post against movement about said second axis.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,221,864 1.1/40 Cummings 12-12.4 2,324,511 7/ 4 3 Jorgensen 12-10.5 2,891,265 6/59 Dunlap 12--12.4 2,982,980 5/61 Faneuf et a1. 12-12.4 3,066,329 12/62 Michel et a1. 12-+10.8

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner. 

1. HEEL CLAMPING MEANS COMPRISING: AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING POST; A HEEL CLAMP ON THE POST; A SUPPORT FOR SUPPORTING A SHOE UPPER HAVING ITS HEEL PORTION FACING THE HEEL CLAMP; MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTING THE POST FOR SWINGING MOVEMENT AT ITS LOWER END WITH RESPECT TO THE SUPPORT ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS TO ENABLE THE HEEL CLAMP TO BE MOVED TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE HEEL PORTION OF THE UPPER AND FOR FREE SWINGING MOVEMENT WITH RESPECT TO THE SUPPORT ABOUT AN UPWARDLY EXTENDING AXIS; AND POWERED MEANS CONNECTED TO THE POST TO EFFECT ITS MOVEMENT ABOUT THE HORIZONTAL AXIS. 